New PennFuture CEO "an environmental and climate champion for our times"

On Monday, July 6, PennFuture issued a statement announcing Larry Schweiger as its new president and CEO. We couldn't be more excited to have Larry on board and look forward to his leadership and collaborative spirit as we continue to address energy and environmental issues in Pennsylvania. The text of the statement is below.

     PennFuture announced today the appointment of Larry J. Schweiger as president and CEO of the statewide environmental advocacy organization after a four-month national search. He succeeds Cindy Adams Dunn, who left the organization in January to assume the role of Secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).
     "We're thrilled that Larry is willing and eager to lead PennFuture at this critical juncture for energy and the environment in Pennsylvania," said David Lane, chair of PennFuture's board of directors. "His depth and breadth of experience on these issues is unparalleled and he retains a passion and commitment for the work we do tat is second to none. He is an environmental and climate champion for our times and ready for the challenges, and opportunities, that lie ahead."
     Schweiger comes to PennFuture after ten years at the helm of the National Wildlife Federation, where he led the organization's four million members and supporters and 47 state and territorial affiliates. He is a past president and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, held a key leadership role at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and served as Executive Secretary of a bipartisan environmental committee of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The Pittsburgh-area native is an author, national speaker and highly-regarded nature photographer, creating resonant images of, among other things, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, tar sands mining, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He is an avid fresh and saltwater angler, boater and canoeist.
     "America works best when we work together," said Schweiger. "Clean energy, natural resource protection and a safe environment are not partisan issues, rather, they touch us all. I am committed to helping give these issues the priority they deserve here in Pennsylvania. PennFuture has long been mindful of the impact of its efforts on this and future generations and it's the lens through which we will continue to view all our efforts."


Elaine Labalme is Strategic Campaigns Director for PennFuture and is based in Pittsburgh.

Today’s the day. Give a salute to clean energy!

As we celebrate our nation's 239^th birthday with pool parties and picnics this weekend, let's not forget that it takes energy to cool our houses and grill our holiday food.

Show your civic pride this Fourth of July and declare your energy independence by donating to PennFuture so we can continue to push for more renewable, homegrown energy and a brighter future for our state!

Pennsylvania has long been an energy innovator. It's essential that we continue to lead as we build a clean energy economy to restore our environment and provide a sustainable future for our kids. PennFuture's job is to work with policymakers across the state and the nation to shape public policy and make Pennsylvania a leader in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Our educational campaigns convinced large institutions, businesses, and individual consumers to go green and be sustainable.

Will you help us continue to fight for more renewable energy?

Three generous donors have agreed to match a total of $5,000 in gifts for our campaign to push for more renewable energy. Your gift will be matched dollar for dollar and your support will really make a difference.

Renewable energy is projected to make up 10 percent of U.S. energy consumption in the next year, but in Pennsylvania, renewable energy makes up only 4 percent of our total energy consumed. Meanwhile, our neighbors in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware continue to deploy more renewable energy — and have more renewable energy jobs than Pennsylvania.

We know we can do better. PennFuture will continue to work tirelessly for more clean energy in Pennsylvania. Like the Founding Fathers, we're not just sitting around. We're pushing forward to make our state a leader in clean energy to create jobs, improve air quality, and reduce our dependence on foreign energy supplies.

America has been the land of innovation for almost two and a half centuries. We plan to continue that tradition by making bold strides in clean energy production right here in Pennsylvania.

Declare your independence! Salute clean energy and support PennFuture with your tax-deductible donation today!

Mary Kane is development associate for PennFuture and is based in Harrisburg.

Boom: Applying lessons learned to our own energy future

From InsideClimate News:

On July 6, 2013, a train carrying volatile crude oil from North Dakota exploded in the Canadian town of Lac-Megantic, killing 47 people and incinerating the downtown. Since then, three oil trains have exploded on the U.S. side of the border, where the surge in domestic oil production now sends millions of trainloads of crude through cities and small towns.  

The Weather Channel and InsideClimate News teamed up to investigate the problem of exploding railcars in "Boom: America's Explosive Oil-by-Rail Problem." The documentary accompanies an investigation by reporters Marcus Stern and Sebastian Jones, who explain why federal regulations to protect the public have been stalled by the railroads and the oil industry.

"Boom: America's Explosive Oil-by-Rail Problem" is a ten-minute documentary borne of an investigative effort by the Weather Channel and InsideClimate News. The documentary highlights the tragic crude train explosion in Lac-Megantic as a cautionary tale for Americans in the wake of increased domestic oil production and, effectively, increased crude-by-rail traffic.

This topic shouldn't be new to Philadelphians who had a close call with a crude oil derailment in January of this year. As Philadelphia contemplates its own energy future, it's important that we discuss the potential safety implications on our densely populated urban area.

The full video can be found here.

Katie Bartolotta is PennFuture's Philadelphia outreach coordinator and is based in Philadelphia. She tweets @KatieBartolotta.

The Black & Gold City is still Going Green

This past Saturday, we had 12 volunteers who helped distribute 137 free energy-saving toolkits to residents in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The contents of the bags include CFL light bulbs, a smart power strip, LED night lights, window and door caulk, and various pamphlets with energy saving tips.

Each bag helps to avoid over 3,817 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere and saves each household over $100 in electricity costs per year. From the collective effort of our volunteers, we helped to avoid over half a million pounds of CO2 from being released, which is equivalent to taking 50 cars off the road or planting 6,082 trees. Those are pretty astounding numbers for just a few hours of volunteer work!

The Black and Gold City Goes Green campaign engages the residents of Pittsburgh in simple actions they can take at home in order to reduce their energy demand and, therefore, their carbon footprint since most electricity is generated from coal-fired power plants. The main focus is on promoting energy efficient products and behaviors, as well as educating individuals about using renewable energy to power their homes. This project was created by PennFuture in 2009 as the community aspect of the Pittsburgh Climate Initiative (PCI). The PCI raises awareness and engages Pittsburgh’s residents, businesses, government and institutions of higher learning in taking concrete actions that reduce heat-trapping gas and air pollution and its impact on our local economy and human health.

Neighborhood blitzes provide direct community involvement to help reduce Pittsburgh’s greenhouse gases—a major contributor to climate change— and improve the region’s air quality. According to an analysis by the Clean Air Task Force using 2010-2012 data, out of 338 urban areas surveyed, Pittsburgh’s air quality is in the dirtiest 10 percent for average annual particle pollution. This is a major cause of concern because poor air quality poses serious risks for public health, including heart and lung disease, cancer, asthma and birth defects, to name a few. (For more information related to the region’s air quality and what is being done about it, check out the Breathe Project.)

Since the neighborhood blitz was adopted as a proactive outreach model in 2010, the Black and Gold City Goes Green campaign has organized 24 blitzes throughout 16 different neighborhoods in Pittsburgh that have reached a total of 2,139 households.

Nicole Catino is PennFutute's 2014 Student Conservation Association Green Cities Sustainability Fellow and is based in Pittsburgh.

Fast Facts

Does radon in shale gas pose a health problem?

State Impact (NPR) reports on a You Tube video that questions whether shale gas can increase cancer risks because it may contain radon.  The viral video was produced by a group that opposes a pipeline that will transport shale gas from Pennsylvania to New York. Michael Arthur from Penn State says there is not enough information but it is worth studying. PA DEP says that they "don't expect there to be much of an indoor air exposure issue" even though they haven't completed their year-long study that may generate facts to support that assumption.  The Marcellus Shale Coalition says that the group's claims "are unsupported by facts and science," all the while failing themselves to produce any studies or data on the group's concerns.

The question to us is which of these groups has access to the data that will answer the question, and why don't they know the answer?  The unknown is scary to the public, and yes, there are groups that will exploit that unknown.  But the burden here must fall on the industry and government.  The industry produces, transports and sells the gas.  As with any purveyor of goods, the industry should know what they are selling to the public and be able to answer these public health questions - not simply yell back at those groups like two kids in a playground.  And the government, which is now conducting a study more than eight years after it allowed production to proceed full-throttle, hampers its credibility when it makes assertions about public health issues without first having the facts in hand.  Let's get the facts and answer the question.

More good news for public health and the environment

The Harrisburg Patriot reports that NRG Energy will shutter two more coal-fired power plants - one in New Jersey and another in Pennsylvania. John Luciew, who wrote the post for the Patriot, adds plenty of commentary to the article - in his first sentence slamming "environmental groups" who he apparently sees cheering for the job losses from these closings while they "don't want fracking for natural gas either."

News flash to Luciew: all "environmental groups" are not built the same.  There are several that support the environmentally conscious development of gas so long as that production is part of a comprehensive plan that promotes energy efficiency, conservation and development of renewable energy. The principle of sustainability recognizes that we must meet the needs of the present while planning for and accommodating the needs of future generations.

And though Luciew emphasizes job losses from these plant closings, he does not report on the lives that have been cut short by the pollution spewed out of these aging plants over the years. The true cost of society relying on coal for energy - from acid mine drainage and mercury in our streams, to heart attacks and climate change - has never been fully internalized by the industry. And worse, Pennsylvania continues to subsidize the industry by billions of dollars per year - something our governor refuses to do for alternative energy that would cause much less harm to the public and our environment.

And speaking of which ...

Governor Corbett announced that he recently awarded a whopping $32,880 in energy-efficiency grants to four small businesses "because investment in small business is a cornerstone to economic growth." Hey, it's not $1.65 billion that he's willing to pay for a cracker - apparently a bit larger of a cornerstone - but it's worth what we used to call a "finger nail clap."  So this one's for you, governor ...

Natural Gas Poised to Push King Coal Off the Throne

As blogged by Brad Plumer at the Washington Post, a peer reviewed study by Duke indicates that natural gas will continue to push out dirty coal as the least cost power generation option so long as average natural gas to coal price remains below 1.8 (it was 1.42 in February 2012). The study indicates that if new air emission limitations are enforced against coal power plants, natural gas plants will remain competitive with coal plants up to a ratio of 4.3. In other words, as coal plants are required to absorb the real cost of harm that they impose on the public and environment, cleaner burning natural gas will be competitive even when the average cost of gas is four times that of dirty coal.